Hoop rolling paddle



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United States Patent HOOP ROLLING PADDLE RobertM. Oquist, Lincoln, Nebr.

Application December 30, 1953, Serial No. 401,105

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-230) of illumination which will light up the bright colored plastic hoop when used in connection therewith.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from b following detailed description, forming the specificaon, and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hoop with the hoop .ii'olling paddle embodying this invention as applied thereto 'or used in connection therewith;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the hoop rolling paddle;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view transversely through the paddle of Figure 2 and taken along line thereof; and

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure 1. With continued reference to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a hoop which is in the form of a large circular ring adapted to be rolled along the ground,

and the hoop 10 is preferably made of a bright colored plastic which will appear to light up when illumination is directed thereon. The hoop rolling paddle used in connection with th e hoop 10 is generally indicated at 12.

Theliooprolling paddle or stick 12 comprises an elongated hollowtube 14 made of metal, preferably aluminum of; polished chrome-plated steel or any other suitable metal which'will have a bright surface, and is preferably oval vin--cros s section so as to afford a better shape to conform to'the hand of the user. One end of the tube 14,

'indicatedjatgjl6freceives therein the shank 18 of a hook 20 which" xtends laterally from the terminal end of the tube perpendicularly to the longitudinal center line of the tube, and the shank is secured within the hollow interior of the tube by a pair of rivets 22. The hook member 20 isgenerally U-shaped and adapted to receive the perimeter .of tltihoop 10 between the legs 24 and 26 thereof so that when the paddle 12 is held at its end 17 remote from the end1'6 in the hand of the user, the hoop may be guided and pushed along a surface such as the ground. The end 17 of the tube 14 defines the handle portion of the tube.

The terminal end of the handle portion 17 is provided with internal threads to receive the threaded shank 28 of a cap 30, and the shank 28 carries a spring 32 at its end remote from the cap portion. The spring is adapted to resiliently urge batteries 34, which provide a source of electric current, disposed within the tube 14 into engagement with the depending leg 36 of a movable contact member 38 which is carried upon a sleeve 40 closely conforming to the inside diameter of the tube 14 and carried therein in overlying relation to the inner surface of the tube 14. It will be noted in Figure 3, that the bat- 2,738,619 Patented Mar. 20, 1956 tery 34 remote from the cap 30 will have itsside wall edge in abutting relation with the sleeve 40. The sleeve 40 is preferably made of some non-conductive material. Operatively associated with the contact 38 is a switch 42 mounted exteriorly upon the tube 14 for sliding movement longitudinally thereof and having a depending or laterally extending pin 44 which will ride along the slightly upwardly directed longitudinally extending portion of the contact 38 so as to move the contact point'at the terminal end thereof into engagement with the contact point 46 carried by the terminal end of an electrical conductor 48 which is in the form of a strip of spring metal carried upon the sleeve 40.

A concave recess 50 is formed in the wall of the tube 14 intermediate its ends but more closely adjacent the end 16 thereof carrying the hook 20. A light bulb socket 52 is secured centrally in the recess 50 and extends into the interior of the tube 14, the socket 52 being adapted to receive a light bulb 54 therein so that the usual contact provided at the end face of the threaded shank of the light bulb will be in contact with the electrical conductor 48 which terminates immediately below the socket 52.

Hence, movement of the switch 42 will cause the pin 44 to ride along the longitudinally projecting portion of the contact 38, when the movement of the switch 42 is in the direction toward the end 16 of the tube 14, so as to engage the contact point carried by the contact 38 with the contact point 46 carried upon the conductor 48 so that the source of electric current, batteries 34, will be operatively connected to said bulb so as to cause illumination thereof. Therefore, the switch 42 may be termed an onoif switch. Of course, movement of the switch 42 longitudinally of the tube 14 in a direction away from the end 16 of the tube and toward the end 17 thereof, will break the connection between the contact 38 and the conductor 48 so as to cause the bulb 54 to go out, or no longer be illuminated.

With the hoop 10 being made of a bright plastic material which is capable of so absorbing and reflecting light that it will appear to be lit up when illumination is applied thereto, it will be seen that the paddle of the present invention will be especially effective at night since by causing the bulb 54 to be illuminated, the hoop will appear to light up, as well as the illumination from the bulb 54 assisting in the actual rolling of the hoop by the paddle at night. It is believed that the above effect will be very popular not only with children, but with adults as well. The hoops 10, of course, can be made in various sizes.

With regard to the concave recess 50, it will be appreciated that this recess will form or define a reflector for the bulb 54. I

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that there has been provided a paddle for use in pushing a hoop which comprises a hollow tube 14 which has a hoop-engaging hook carried at one end thereof and which projects laterally therefrom perpendicularly to the longitudinal center line of the tube 14, and a source of illumination, bulb 54, carried by the tube and the source of illumination being operatively connected to a source of electric current, batteries 34-, carried within the tube 14, so that the source of allumination may be caused to operate to provide a light for the paddle when used at night to assist in rolling the hoop 10 as well as to provide the lighted effect of the hoop previously described.

While there is shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the structure is susceptible to change and modification within the practicability of the invention and therefore should be limited only by the scope of the claim appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

A paddle for use in pushing a hoop comprising an elon- 3 gated hollow metal tube adapted to contain a dry cell battery grounded against said tube, a U-shaped hoop engaging hook secured at its bow end to said tube at one end thereof and the legs projecting laterally to one side thereof perpendicularly with the longitudinal center line of said tube, said tube having a concave recess in its wall opening to the same side of the tube to which said hook projects and adjacent the hook carrying end thereof to define a reflector integral with said tube, said reflector comprising a metal socket in its base, a light bulb carried by said socket in said reflector, and a source of electric current comprising said battery carried within said tube adjacent its end remote from said hook and operatively connected to said bulb through said tube and switch means mounted on said tube to illuminate the bulb for providing light for said paddle when used at night to assist in rolling the hoop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,272,240 Enemoto July 9, 1918 2,173,624 Dyer Sept. 19, 1939 2,278,111 Kleinpell Mar. 31, 1942 2,381,581 Entringer Aug. 7, 1945 2,442,893 Henderson June 8, 1948 

